I, The Jury Could Use That Reward

MARCOVITZ

March 27, 1997|by HAL MARCOVITZ, The Morning Call

It had been quiet for a long time in Sellersville.

Too quiet.

When you sleuth for pay you grow suspicious at times like these.

Call me suspicious.

I cracked my Beeman's gum and drew hard on the Lucky that was dangling out of the corner of my mouth. I leaned back in my swivel chair, put my feet up and let a long curlicue of blue smoke drift up to the ceiling. Deep down in my gut, I knew something would happen.

The phone rang like a banshee. I grabbed the receiver and barked, "Hello." It was Sgt. William McGlinchey at the Pennridge Regional police calling to tip me to a hot case.

Toward the end of January, he said, somebody stole more than $400,000 in cash from a safe. The victim is an older guy who didn't trust banks.

I cracked my Beeman's.

"Sounds like an inside job," I theorized, letting ash from my Lucky hit the top of my scuffed wingtips.

McGlinchey was guarded. He said, "Somebody is walking around with that money burning a hole in their pocket."

McGlinchey said he couldn't give out much more information. He said the victim doesn't want his name or the name of the business released. Also, he said, the money was kept in a safe at another business that wasn't owned by the victim. McGlinchey couldn't give out the name of that business, either.

I told McGlinchey that the citizen isn't making things easy. I said the case would be easier to crack if more facts are known. Where was the safe located? Did customers see the loot inside? Did anybody in the neighborhood see something suspicious?

McGlinchey apologized and said

I would just have to live with the circumstances.

But then he dropped this bomb: The victim had posted a reward.

"How much?" I asked.

"It's up to $120,000," he said.

Holy macaroni!

McGlinchey said the victim had originally posted a reward of $30,000, but then he doubled it a short time later. On Monday, McGlinchey said, the guy doubled it again.

I cracked my Beeman's and whistled. That's a lot of lettuce.

McGlinchey and I chewed over the case for a few more minutes. He said the Pennridge cops had a few leads they were tracking down, but the case is still wide open. According to McGlinchey, if people notice a friend or co-worker suddenly flashing a big wad they should contact police.

"We're dealing with a great deal of money," he said. "Sometimes, it's hard for people to keep a secret."

I told him he would get my cooperation. He thanked me and hung up.

I reached into the drawer of my desk and found a bottle of Scotch. I leaned forward and examined the evidence.

*An older guy who didn't trust banks kept his money off premises in a safe.

*The safe was cracked and emptied out by person or persons unknown.

*I have no name to go on, no door to knock on, no list of suspects to run by my sources. The only thing I know about the victim is he didn't trust banks. Curious.

I thought about the case. It's been more than a month since the caper and the police don't seem to have a clue. In fact, the cops are hoping somebody makes like a canary and sings.

It sure had been slow in Sellersville, no question about it. And I fear that without some hard information on this heist, things would stay slow for a long time to come.

I'm not even sure $120,000 is going to help flush out the bad guy. It seems to me that the crook who pulled this heist is smart, cagey and shrewd enough to keep the loot stashed and his mouth shut.